Sculpture background

A Wellington landmark, the Bucket Fountain (originally referred to as the "Water Mobile"), was erected in 1969 as a part of the Cuba Street pedestrian mall.

In a 1969 article in the magazine Designscape, the Bucket Fountain was maligned as:

"Admirable in concept, as something different and interesting, the mobile has not has the careful thinking out it obviously needs [...] with sporadic and sudden cascades of water often missing the bucket below, or hitting as it swings upside down, with resulting large splashes onto the pavement and roars of laughter from onlookers"

In November 2003, the Wellington City Council gave the Bucket Fountain a $9000 upgrade. This consisted of re-fibreglassing and repainting the buckets, sandblasting the frame, and cleaning and painting the pool.